CHANCELLOR COURTS CHINESE CASHFLOW AT BUSINESS AWARDS November 8, 2011 GEORGE Osborne didn’t exactly say “give me all your money” to the assembled business leaders at the Orange National Business Awards. No, he phrased it rather more elegantly than that. “We need to see cash coming out of corporate balance sheets and into real investment prospects,” if The Capitalist’s memory serves correctly. So no prizes [...]
Number one hotelier sees profits jump November 8, 2011 INTERCONTINENTAL Hotels Group, the world’s largest hotelier, yesterday beat expectations with a 33 per cent increase in third-quarter operating profit thanks to strong growth in China and the United States. InterContinental, which owns the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn brands, said operating profit rose to $153m (£95m) in the quarter to end September, from $115m [...]
MCDONALD’S REVENUES BOOSTED BY SALAD November 8, 2011 MCDONALD’S, the world’s largest restaurant chain, reported yesterday a 5.5 per cent rise worldwide as it continues to outperform its competitors. Revenue at stores open at least 13 months rose 4.8 per cent in Europe and 5.2 per cent in the US, beating analysts’ expectations. Sales in the US were helped by its Monopoly game [...]
Keystone in lift from Kurdistan November 8, 2011 OIL and gas explorer Gulf Keystone Petroleum yesterday raised its estimates for reserves at its Shaikan prospect in Kurdistan. It is estimated that the site holds up to 13.4bn barrels of oil, up from the previous prediction of 10.8bn barrels. Shares in the company went up eight per cent after the announcement. Evolution Securities analyst [...]
Greenland oil trace for Cairn November 8, 2011 CAIRN Energy yesterday gave a positive update on one of its exploration wells in Greenland after disappointing drilling results so far this year. The FTSE-100 company found signs of oil and gas at the AT7-1 well, although it has been unable to evaluate the results fully because of difficult operating conditions. The company’s first three [...]
Sugar arm is sweet spot for AB Foods November 8, 2011 RECORD profits at Associated British Foods’ (ABF) sugar arm have helped offset weaker results at its discount-clothing chain Primark, which was hit after the group chose not to pass the rise in cotton prices onto shoppers. Primark’s profits slumped by eight per cent to £309m in the year to 17 September, after its operating profit [...]
Banks have seen a $54bn hit from monoline exposures since 2007 November 8, 2011 US BANKS have written down $54bn (£33.5bn) in losses resulting from their exposure to monoline insurers over the past four years, according to new data released by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (Isda) yesterday. The trade body for the over-the-counter derivatives market said that losses were greater than a figure of $2.7bn given by [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 8, 2011 Cushman & Wakefield The property consultant has appointed business consulting real estate executive Neil McLocklin as a partner and head of its EMEA business consulting group, based in London. He joins from Capita Symonds, where he was director of consultancy and advisory services. In addition, Elizaveta Shaforostova will transfer to the London team from C&M’s [...]
Vacancy rate drops at Segro November 8, 2011 British industrial landlord Segro said it had a strong third quarter, with annualised rental income rising, and it remained well placed for the current environment. Segro secured £11.9m of new annualised rental income in the three months to end-September, up from £9.5m in the 2010 period. Its vacancy rate dropped to 10.2 per cent, from [...]
Capco riding out tough economy November 8, 2011 Landlord Capital & Counties Properties said yesterday that its businesses had performed well over the summer, despite the challenging economic backdrop. The company said occupancy at Covent Garden is strong, and that planning for the development of the Earls Court & West Kensington Opportunity Area was progressing well. Capco said it was confident it could continue [...]
